A chara, - Brendan Glacken in his "Times Square" (January 18th) quotes Fintan O'Toole as stating that the Irish expressions "Ta bron orm" and "Ta athas orm", translated literally as "happiness is upon me" or sadness "is upon me", are "operatic" in comparison with the more prosiac English equivalent "I am happy" or "I am sad".
I contend the opposite. It is the English that is inflated and "operatic", with its "I am sad" to describe an emotional state that may last no longer than it takes to empty a box of Kleenex. The Irish idiom, on the other hand, allows for the roller coaster nature of human emotions.
The phrase "Ta bron orm" or "sadness is upon me" carries with it the implication that the emotion is not permanent and, like a garment of clothing, will soon be lifted and replaced by another. In the Irish language, the construction which corresponds most closely to the phrase "I am" in English is reserved for describing things which stand a far greater chance of being permanent, such as "Is fear me"). - Is Mise,
Cnocan Doirinne,
Baile Atha Cliath 3.